Mayor de Blasio Announces Seven More Weekend Outdoor Dining Locations

September 11, 2020

Open Streets: Restaurants initiative is now on 87 streets citywide each weekend, joining more than 10,000 participating Open Restaurants

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced seven new locations for car-free weekend outdoor dining as part of a City initiative that combines the Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs. The “Open Streets: Restaurants” program expands socially distant seating options onto car-free streets along select corridors throughout the weekends. Today's additions bring the citywide total to 87 participating streets, along with nine pedestrian plazas.

“As we prepare for the return of indoor dining on September 30th, we’re proud to continue supporting businesses by expanding car-free outdoor dining in neighborhoods across the city,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Open Restaurants has been a popular program from the beginning, and Open Streets: Restaurants has expanded options even further while changing the way we think about our streets. We look forward to continuing to expand it.”

“In just over three months, our Open Restaurants initiative has saved more than 90,000 jobs, with more than 10,000 businesses now participating across the five boroughs, and this weekend new car-free locations are coming to more neighborhoods – including New Dorp on Staten Island, Williamsburg and the Lower East Side,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “Mayor de Blasio’s vision and the dedication of our agency and community partners have transformed the cityscape, allowing us to use street space and pedestrian plazas to strengthen our local economy and quality of life during the COVID-19 crisis.”

"Outdoor dining has been a success and we are continuing to give more restaurants an opportunity to serve their communities through this latest expansion," said Jonnel Doris, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. "Restaurants are the heart of NYC, contributing to our cultural diversity and economic prosperity."

Most of the new locations will begin weekend closures the evening Friday, September 11th. Earlier this month, Mayor de Blasio announced that the partner organizations managing these streets can also apply for hours of weekday street closures. As of last week, the Open Restaurants initiative, which began in June, now has over 10,000 participating businesses.

New Open Streets: Restaurants Locations:

The hours of operation for Open Streets: Restaurants corridors are generally from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday nights, and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Some hours will vary by location.

“The New Dorp Lane BID is happy to continue our partnership with the DOT and continue to bring patrons to our great restaurants. Curbside, sidewalk and street dining are key components to business recovery while keeping restaurant goers safe,” said Niles French, Senior Vice President of Projects, Staten Island EDC and BID Director, New Dorp BID.

“The driving force behind this application and forming a merchant association was the comradery we felt over last few months,” said Sara Leveen, Owner, Hanoi House. “We all have had a challenging time during the pandemic and Open Streets: Restaurants enables even more of our struggling businesses to participate in outdoor dining programs. This is transformative for the block and community!”

“We are very excited to join this initiative and to share this experience with our neighborhood!” said Dominique Morales, Operations Manager, Restaurant Marc Forgione.